Electrically heated still with air condenser



3,236,746 ELECTRICALLY HEATED STILL WITH AIR CONDENSER Filed Jan. 22, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet l A. M. POINDEXTER ETAL Feb. 22, 196k ATTORNEY ELECTRICALLY HEATED STILL WITH AIR CONDENSER Filed Jan. 22, 1962 Feb. 22, 1966 A. M. POINDEXTER ETAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 a v Illu? Y INVENTOR ALLAN MOORE POINDEXTER DIMITRI GREGORY SOUSSLOFF ATTORN EY Feb. 22, 1966 A. M. PolNDExTER ETAL 3,236,746

ELECTRICALLY HEATED STILL WITH AIR CONDENSER 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan. 22, 1962 FIGG FIG

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INVENTOR ALLAN MOORE POINDEXTER DIMITRI GREGORY SOUSSLOFF ATTORNEY United States Patent O Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. 22, 1962, Ser. No. 167,775 2 Claims. (Cl. 202-187) This invention relates in general to distillation apparatus, and, more particularly, to low cost distillation apparatus which is particularly adapted to be used in the home.

In many places the potable water supply is contaminated by salts and substances in solution 'which impart an unpleasant taste and order to water and which render it unpleasant to drink. In other areas where there is a clear and adequate supply of drinking water for the majority of the population, specific individuals may -have to distill or import drinking water to avoid harmful reactions produced by particular ingredients of the drinking water. Even when it is not required for regular or special drinking purposes, distilled water should be used in the home to fill such appliances as steam irons and the like and distilled water should be used to replenish uid lost through evaporation from automobile storage batteries.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide a low cost and a safe distillation apparatus.

Another object of this invention is to provide a distillation apparatus which automatically shuts off when its fluid supply is exhausted or if it is accidentally knocked over or upset when left unattended.

A further object of this invention is to provide an extremely `simple home distillation appara-tus which will not burn anyone who accidentally touches it while it is in use.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a more simple and less expensive home distillation apparatus which may be fabricated almost entirely from molded plastic.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a distillation apparatus having an air cooled condenser which is transparent to radiations of about eight angstrom units in wave length so as to `dissipate hea-t from condensing steam by direct radiation through the walls of the condenser.

Many other objects, advantages and features of invention reside in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts involved in the embodiment of the invention and its practice as will be understood from the following description and the accompanying drawing of a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan View of the distillation apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the distillation apparatus taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken on lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a t-op View of a fragment of the condenser showing the aperture through which the handle is secured;

`FIGURE 5 is a top View of the heater sleeve;

FIGURE 6 is a side view of the handle with a lower portion broken away;

FIGURE 7 is a top view of the product water bottle with a central portion broken away and with two corners broken away in horizontal section; and

FIGURE 8 is a t-op view of a fragment of the condenser with the handle shown fixed in place with the handle cover removed.

Referring to the drawing in detail, FIGURES 2 and 3 show the base 10 which has two vertical side walls 11 and 3,235,746 Patented Feb. 22, 1966 12 extending along its entire length. A rear wall 13 extends between the ends of the side walls 11 and 12 and contains a cutout 14 in its lower centrally located portion. The front wall 15 contains a large rectangular cutout portion 16 which extends from the bottom of wall 15 almost to its top -and substantially across its entire width.

Three transverse braces 17, 18 and 19 extend between the tops of the side walls 11 and 12. Two longitudinal braces 20 and 21 extend between the transverse braces 17 and 19 and intersect the transverse brace 18. Horizontal anges 22 and 23 extend inward from the transverse braces .17 and 19 between the longitudinal braces 20 and 21. A single horizontal iiange 24 extends outward across the top of the transverse brace 18 between the longitudinal braces 20 and 21. Two drain decks 25 and 26 slope downw-ard and outward from the longitudinal braces 20 and 21 towards the side walls 11 and 12. The drain decks 25 and 26 may terminate in the iiutters 27 and 28. At the rear of the base 10 the drain deck 29 extends from the transverse brace 19 and slopes towards `the rear wall 13. The drain deck 29 communicates with the side drain decks 25 and 26 may terminate in the gutters 27 and 28. drain deck 30 containing the gutter 31. The cen-tral portion of gutter 31 terminates in the opening 32 so that uid falling on the drain decks will flow into the gutters 27 and 28 which lead to gutter 31 to ow through opening 32.

Referring further to FIGURES 2 and 3, a number of tapered projections 34 extend downward from the drain decks 25 and 26 alongside the side walls 11 and 12. A suitable web 35 may extend between each tapered projection 34 and the adjacent side wall. The entire base 10 may be molded in a two part mold from a suitable thermoplastic.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, a tank 36 has a bottom wall 37 fixed to the horizontal anges 22 and 23 by means of nipples 42 which extend downward from it. The side walls 38 and 39 and the end walls 40 and 41 extend beyond and slightly below the longitudinal braces 20 and 21 and the centr-al portions of the transverse braces 17 and 19.

Two bottles support strips 43 are fixed to the bottoms of the tapered projections 34 to extend inward from the side walls 11 and 12 by means of suitable fastening means 44 such as drive screws or the like.

Referring now to FIGURES 2, 3 and 7, a product or distilled water bottle 46 is blow molded or otherwise fabricated from polyethylene or any other suitable material. The water bottle 46 is generally rectangular in shape and has stiffening corr-ugations 47 formed in its top and bottom surfaces. A wedge-shaped neck 48 extends from one end of bottle 46 and contains an aperture 49 formed in a depression in its top surface. The bottle 46 is slipped like a drawer through the opening 16 in front wall 15. The bottom surface of the bottle 46 is supported by the bottle support strips 43. As shown in FIGURE 2, two web members Si) extend forward from the rear wall 13 on either side of the cutout portion 14. These web members 5t) serve as stops to limit the rearward motion of bottle 46 within the base. As shown in FIGURE 3, two small projections or lugs 51 extend upward from the rearwardly disposed inside edges of the bottle support strips 43. The end of the bottle 46 rides over these projections 51 which then fall into the two lower outside corrugations 47 to secure the bottle 46 in position within the base 10. The bottle may be easily removed as it may be urged outward for a short distance by inserting a finger through the opening 14 in rear wall 13. After the bottle is urged outward a short distance, it may be easily grasped by its neck 48 and removed.

Referring now to FIGURES l, 2 and 3, the condenser 52 has a top wall 53, two end walls 54 and 55 and the side walls 56 and 57. The side walls 56 and 57 slope downward and then extend outward to terminate in the downwardly bending skirts 58 and 59. The end wall 54 terminates in a skirt 60. A short distance inward from each skirt 58, 59 and 60 and from the lower edge of the end wall 55 there is a small downwardly extending strip 61 which extends completely around the inner upper edges of the side wakls `11 and 12, the rear wall 13 and the front wall 15. As may be seen in FIGURES l and 3, vertical projections 62 are formed to extend outward from the side walls 56 and 57 to increase the total inside and outside surface area of the condenser 52.

Referring now to FIGURES l, 2 and 4, the channels 63 and 64 extend from a large central aperture 65 in the top wall 53. The channels 63 and 64 extend to the ends of the top wall 53 and then extend downward in the end walls 54 and 55 respectively, Suitable channel-shaped strips 66 and 67 are snapped, glued or otherwise fixed over the channels 63 and 64. These strips 66 and 67 serve a decorative purpose in that they enhance the overall appearance of the condenser 52. A projecting skirt 68 having a top wall 69 is molded to extend rearwardly from the bottom portion of end wall 55. An electric cord 70 having a plug 71 extends through both an aperture in skirt 68 and a strain relief bushing 72 to extend within channel 64 and be covered by str-ip 67.

Referring now to FIGURES 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8, a handle member 74 has an outward flaring upper portion 75 a cylindrical portion 76, a smaller cylindrical portion 77 carrying the lugs 78, and a switch tu-be 79 extending downward from the cylindrical portion 77. The switch tube 79 is open at its lower end and contains a number of small apertures 80 formed in its upper portion. As shown in FIGURE 2, two carbon rods 81 are fixed within the handle member 74 to extend downward parallel to each other within the switch tube 79. Suitable conducting members 82 are fixed to the tops of the rods 81 and extend upward within the outwardly flaring upper portion 75.

As shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 5, a heater sleeve 83 has a bottom wall 84 containing the apertures 85. Small projections 86 extend downward from bottom wall 84 to position it above the bottom wa'll 37 of tank 36 so that the bottom wall 37 will not close the apertures 85. The slightly tapering side wall 87 extends upward to terminate in the ange 88. As shown in FIGURE 5, wide slots 89 are cut downward through the flange 88 and the upper portion of the side wall 87. Also formed through the side wall 87 and the flange 88 are narrower slots 90 which are disposed alongside the wide slots 89.

The handle member 74 and the heater sleeve 83 are secured to the condenser 52 in the `following manner. Referring to FIGURES 4, and 6, the heater sleeve 83 is placed below the top wall 53 of condenser 52 with the wide slots 89 disposed directly beneath corresponding slots 92 formed in the top wall 53. The handle member 74, which `already has the heating element 93 and the carbon rods 81 fixed to it, has its switch tube 79 extended downward through the aperture 65. The lugs 78 are aligned with the slots 92 and 89. The handle member 74 is moved downward until the lugs 78 pass through the slots 92 and 89 and the lugs 78 are below flange 88. At this time the handle member 74 is turned clockwise so that the lugs 78 move beneath the flange 88 adjacent to the narrower `slots 90. Therefore, as shown in FIGURE 3, the top wall 53 of the condenser is clamped between flange 88 and the outwardly flaring upper portion 75 of the handle member 74,

Referring now to FIGURE 8, the electric cord 70 is connected to one end of the heating element 93 and to one of the conducting members 82 leading to a carbon rod 81. A small lead 94 connects the other conducting element 82 with the other end of heating element 93. A

suitable cutout 95 is formed in the outwardly flaring portion 75 of handle member 74 in line with channel 64so that the wire '70` may extend through the cutout 95.

The'bottle 46, the tank 36 and the condenser 52 are best formed from polyethylene or polypropylene while the handle member 74, the heater sleeve 83, and the base 10 may be molded from a suitable phenolic plastic. A small disk-shaped plastic or rubber cover 96 is glued or otherwise secured over the outwardly flaring upper portion 75 to cover the electrical connections.

This distillation apparatus is used in the following manner. An empty bottle 46 is slid into the base 10. The upper portion 75 of the handle member 74 is grasped to remove the entire condenser 52. Water or other liquid to be distilled is then poured directly into tank 36. If the apparatus is being used for the rst time, a pinch of salt to provide electrical conductivity is thrown into tank 36. The condenser 52 is then placed over the base 10 and the plug 71 is inserted into a suitable electric outlet. Water within tank 36 will flow through the apertures 85 to seek its own level within the heater sleeve 83 and the switch tube 79. Since, as shown in FIGURE 8, the carbon rods 81 are connected in series with the heating element 93, water to be distilled containing a trace of salt will conduct current between the rods 81 to activate the heating element 93. Heating element 93 will boil water within the heater sleeve 83 and steam will escape from within the heater sleeve 83 through that portion of the slot 89 which is cut in the side wall 87. This steam rapidly fills the space between the tank 36 and the side walls of the condenser.

Upon contact with the cooler electrically insulating molded plastic condenser 52, the steam will condense to run down its inner surfaces onto the drain decks 25, 26, 29 and 30. There the gutters 27, 28 and 31 will conduct condensed moisture to the aperture 32 through which it drops into the bottle 46. Since the condenser 52 is made with a relatively large inner and outer surface area, it is rapidly cooled by direct contact with and the conduction of heat to surrounding air. Vertical convection currents will then be set up in the surrounding air to draw new and unheated air into contact with the outer surface of the condenser 52. In addition, since condenser 52 may be made of polyethylene, heat may be directly radiated through the walls of condenser 52. This results from the fact that most of the heat radiated from steam at atmospheric pressure is within a range close to eight angstrom units in wave length. The polyethylene plastic of condenser 52 may be selected to be over 80% transparent to radiation of about eight angstrom units of wave length.

As fluid boils away from within tank 36, its level falls until the carbon rods 81 in switch tube 79 are no longer immersed. When electric current can no longer flow through fluid between the carbon rods 81, the heating element 93 is disconnected and the apparatus automatically ceases to function. Thus it is impossible to burn out the heating element 93 by operating it when its lower convolutions are not immersed in water, This feature also automatically shuts off the heating element 93 as a safety measure when the condenser 52 is removed to fill the tank or for any other purpose. In addition, should the distillation apparatus be accidentally upset, as when left unattended in the presence of children in a home, water would rapidly flow from about the carbon rods 81 and shut off the electric current owing to the heating element 93. In operation the hottest exposed part of this distillation apparatus is the polyethylene condenser 52. However, since polyethylene has a relatively low thermal diflusivity, accidental direct contact with the condenser 52 will not produce a burn. This is a particular advantage of a plastic condenser acting also as a cover and avoids the need for further enclosure.

While this invention has been disclosed in the best form known, it will nevertheless be understood that this is purely exemplary and that modifications in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, the substitution of material and the substitution of equivalents mechanically and otherwise may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. A distillation apparatus comprising in combination:

(a) a base having an upper surface forming a drain deck, said deck containing a drain aperture, and said deck extending about the upper surface of said base, said deck being pitched and inclined to lead liquid thereon into said drain aperture, side walls on said base, a front wall in said base containing a large cut-out portion;

(b) a detachable tank mounted upon said base and extending upward from said base, said tank being at least partially surrounded by said drain deck;

(c) a detachable liquid container disposed within said base below said drain deck, said container being slidably removable from said base through the opening in said front wall, said container having an opening therein into which iluid drains from said aperture in said drain deck;

(d) a detachable condenser shell, having multiple eX- ternal projecting fins for air cooling, disposed over said drain deck and around said tank and supported upon said base means; and

(e) electric conducting means including elements eX- tending from said detachable condenser shell downward into said tank, said conducting means comprising electric resistance heating means connected electrically in series with said conducting means and a switch means operable electrically in series with said conducting means, said switch being exposed within said tank to allow liquid to flow onto said switch and to bridge the conducting elements at said switch, whereby current flows through said switch only when electrically conducting liquid bridges said switch.

2. A distillation apparatus comprising in combination: (a) a base having an upper surface forming a drain deck, said deck containing a drain aperture, and said deck extending about the upper surface of said base, said deck being pitched and inclined to lead liquid thereon into said drain aperture, side walls on said base, a front wall in said base containing a large cut-out portion;

(b) a detachable tank mounted upon said base and extending upward from said base, said tank being at least partially surrounded by said drain deck;

(c) a detachable liquid container disposed within said base below said drain deck, said container being slidably removable from said base through the opening in said front wall, said container having an opening therein into which fluid drains from said aperture in said drain deck;

(d) a detachable condenser shell, having multiple eX- ternal projecting tins for air cooling, disposed over said drain deck and around said tank and supported upon said base means; and

(e) electric conducting means including elements eX- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 577,267 2/ 1897 Painter.

681,289 8/ 1901 Wrightnour.

814,405 3/ 1906 Smith.

846,322 3/ 1907 Lazenby et al. 1,143,568 6/1915 Barnstead. 1,277,659 9/ 1918 Stalhane et al. 1,355,935 10/1920 Benjamin. 1,561,243 11/1925 Keene 219-333 1,635,112 7/1927 Carlson et al. 1,893,340 1/ 1933 Schlumbohm. 1,931,838 10/1933 Beraud. 2,217,266 10/ 1940 Cookson. 2,475,482 7/ 1949 Clemens. 2,616,839 11/1952 Ames. 2,790,063 4/1957 Bok et al. 219-271 X 2,813,063 11/1957 Bjorksten. 2,961,525 11/1960 Riket 219-333 3,039,941 6/ 1962 Sweeney et al.

FOREIGN PATENTS 740,014 5 1943 Germany.

NORMAN YUDKOFF, Primary Examiner. GEORGE D. MITCHELL, Examiner. 

1. A DISTILLATION APPARATUS COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (A) A BASE HAVING AN UPPER SURFACE FORMING A DRAIN DECK, SAID DECK CONTAINING A DRAIN APERTURE, AND SAID DECK EXTENDING ABOUT THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID BASE, SAID DECK BEING PITCHED AND INCLINED TO LEAD LIQUID THEREON INTO SAID DRAIN APERTURE, SIDE WALLS ON SAID BASE, A FRONT WALL IN SAID BASE CONTAINING A LARGE CUT-OUT PORTION; (B) A DETACHABLE TANK MOUNTED UPON SAID BASE AND EXTENDING UPWARD FROM SAID BASE, SAID TANK BEING AT LEAST PARTIALLY SURROUNDED BY SAID DRAIN DECK; (C) A DETACHABLE LIQUID CONTAINER DISPOSED WITHIN SAID BASE BELOW SAID DRAIN DECK, SAID CONTAINER BEING SLIDABLY REMOVABLE FROM SAID BASE THROUGH THE OPENING IN SAID FRON WALL, SAID CONTAINER HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN INTO WHICH FLUID DRAINS FROM SAID APERTURE IN SAID DRAIN DECK; 